No. 10 Marquette Golden Eagles at No. 13 Villanova Wildcats
The No. 10 Marquette Golden Eagles suffered their very first Big East Conference lost on Saturday when they were upset by the South Florida Bulls 57-56. The Golden Eagles are now in a 3 way tie for first place and in need to get back to their winning ways. However, the No. 13 Villanova Wildcats have been playing exceptionally well over the last few weeks winning 5 straight games including big wins over Pittsburgh and Syracuse. The Wildcats sport a healthy 19-4 record this year that is well ahead of other big name schools in the conference like Notre Dame, Syracuse, and Georgetown. Villanova will attempt to keep up their rather surprising play when they host a talented Marquette team on their own floor on Tuesday night.
No. 1 Duke Blue Devils at No. 4 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
The new top ranked team in the nation the Duke Blue Devils take to the road to battle the former top ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Blue Devils have knocked off 10 straight victories since their only loss this season to Michigan. Duke is fresh off an absurd blowout over Maryland on Saturday when the Blue Devils took down the victory in a big way 85-44, but things promise to be much tougher this Wednesday night. Wake Forest got off to a 16-0 start and the No. 1 with some big wins over Clemson and North Carolina, but stumbled last Wednesday night losing to Virginia Tech 78-71. The Demon Deacons will try to get back on track in what would be a huge statement that they are still among America’s best if they can knock off top ranked Duke.
No. 10 Clemson Tigers at No. 5 North Carolina Tarheels
The No. 5 North Carolina Tarheels host the No. 10 Clemson Tigers tonight in Chapel Hill in a big ACC conference match-up. Clemson dropped their first loss last weekend 78-68 from the hands of No. 1 Wake Forest. North Carolina has won two games in a row after losing two in one week against Boston College and Wake Forest. The game has big aspirations for both teams in terms of ACC regular season hopes. Clemson lost their first conference game last weekend and North Carolina has already lost two. Neither team can afford anymore losses as they both trial Duke and Wake Forest who are undefeated in conference play. Clemson has the chance to gain a lot of respect among the national audience if they could pull of the win as big underdogs tonight.
Xavier Musketeers at Duke Blue Devils Pick and Preview
A pair of top ten teams meet center court in Durham, NC. The undefeated Xavier Musketeers will be trying to stay perfect in front of the Cameron Crazies at Duke. The Blue Devils were upset by Michigan two weeks ago 81-73 and they look to get back to their winning ways. The Blue Devils beat the Musketeers in their last meeting in the NCAA Tournament back in 2004.
Oklahoma vs. Purdue Preview 11/27/08
The Preseason NIT has an outstanding matchup in the Championship game as #11 Oklahoma meets #10 Purdue. Both teams are unbeaten, have excellent coaches, and superstar players. The Sooners are led by preseason Big 12 player of the year Blake Griffin, who is averaging 27.2 points and 18.8 rebounds per game. Purdue is led by E’Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel. The Sooners rely upon Griffin for the bulk of their scoring while Purdue is more balanced.
NCAA Championship Game – Memphis vs Kansas Pick
The time is finally upon us. We have watched an entire season of college basketball. We watched great young freshmen make their mark in the game and great in conference play. We watched the great conference tournaments and feverishly filled out our brackets as the tournament seedings were announced.
Final Four Preview – Kansas vs North Carolina Pick
Two teams with a lot of Final Four experience meet on Saturday as Kansas takes on North Carolina. The Tar Heels are making their 17th Final Four appearance and that is tied for most in history with UCLA. North Carolina head coach Roy Williams is making his fourth Final Four appearance in the least seven years and is facing his former team. The Tar Heels have an all-time record of 13-14 in Final Four games.
Final Four Preview – Memphis vs UCLA Pick
The high scoring Memphis Tigers will try and play a fast paced game on Saturday while the UCLA Bruins will try and slow things down. It should be an interesting contrast in the second game of the Final Four.